Michael Steinberg was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud in federal court. The Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund’s SAC Capital Advisors LP’s manager, Michael Steinberg, 41 was convicted of insider trading in a Manhattan court by a jury of nine women and three men that found, according to Bloomberg, that he procured $1.4 million in illicit profits. He was found to have used illegal tips on technology stocks which had been provided to Michael Steinberg by his former securities analyst, Jon Horvath. Horvath is an SAC analyst who prosecutors said supplied Steinberg with nonpublic information about companies, including Dell Inc… Jon Horvath, 44, later admitted to trading illegal tips with friends at other firms. The entire finance industry is shaken up and individual players are noticing that audits are happening more frequently as authorities crack down on these activities.
Michael Steinberg from Great Neck, Long Island in New York, was convicted on four counts of securities fraud. Each of the counts of convictions carries with it a term of 20 years. The conspiracy conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years. SAC Capital Advisors LP’s billionaire founder Steven A. Cohen, 57, has not been charged with a crime.
Jon Horvath, who pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges and who is cooperating with the U.S., has testified that he was a member of a “criminal club” of hedge fund analysts. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, who presided over the trial, has imposed some of the strictest terms on convicted insider traders in the Manhattan courthouse.
The Daily Finance has reported that a spokesman for Michael Steinberg stated he and his lawyers would not have any comment. New York federal prosecutors have brought insider-trading cases against 87 people and won convictions against 76 of them as part of a six-year nationwide probe of fund managers, company insiders and proclaimed expert network firms. George Venizelos, who heads the FBI’s New York office, has stated that the government will continue pursuing those accused of insider trading.
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